I wear my sunglasses at night
by Sabreback
Summary: A short story based in the world of the PetRPG website. The first story I've ever completed. Reviews welcomed.


This story makes use of creatures from the PetRPG website. The pet species belong to them. The characters themselves and the storyline, etc., belong to me.

One day very much like any other, Saiya the (natural) Jak and his older brother Kochi the Krow were sitting on the couch watching the tube, when all of a sudden, Punch, Kochi's girlfriend, exploded unceremoniously through the front door, wielding a sharp pair of shades in her hand as though they were the secret to life itself. Kochi, who was used to these outbursts, thought nothing of it, while Saiya, a much younger pet, was quite unnerved by the display.

"BEHOLD!!!" cried Punch, "The Super-Magical, Sun-Crunching, HD+ Ultra Shades 12000!!!!! Now in black! Only the latest in designer eyewear!"

Kochi merely faked a yawn while Saiya, eager to be polite, hopped up and ran over to his sis. "Whatchu say you got there, again?" He realized on taking a closer look that the frames were black, but the lenses themselves changed colors when you tilted them around. "These, diminutive one, are the most powerful sunglasses in the world. They can block out the sun's rays up to spf 12,000 and still grant HD+ vision!" the white krow replied smugly. "Er... wow," Saiya mumbled, the cogs turning over slowly in his brain, "Is that even possible?" Punch was almost beside herself now: "I don't know, but who cares!? IT'S FREAKIN AWESOME!!!" At that moment Kochi graced them with his thoughts, interjecting that, "Even if that WERE possible, Punch, there's no place on earth you could even test it." Then a smug look came over Punch's face. "Oh, but I know one." Saiya's pleading with her to disclose the location was to no avail as they packed their bags. Kochi merely scoffed at the pair. What nonsense.

400 frequent flyer miles later…….

"Snowberg?" Saiya asked, a bit put out. "We're going to test your shades in Snowberg?" But Punch was ready for him. "No," she said, "We're going to test them in the Cave of Light." Saiya stood blank for a moment. He was still only a kid and unfamiliar with every corner of their world, but he was sure he had never even heard whisper of such a place. "Cave of Light?" he asked, uncertain. "Indeed, little brother. Surely Kochi has told you about it?" Well, no, Kochi had not told him about that. "Er, no," he mumbled. Punch didn't look surprised, despite her previous statement. "Figures. He doesn't believe in fairy tales anymore. They say that there is a crystal disc, naturally formed, inside a cave far outside of Snowberg. When the sunlight passes through it, it is said to be magnified in such a way that no other light in the world is as bright or powerful. It can turn the hairs on your head white… Haha, but don't worry. It probably doesn't even exist. But if it does, we're gonna find it and find out just how powerful that light really is! Ultra shades, forward!"

For the next 2 hours and 38 minutes they tried to find somebody who would take them, either by truck, sled, or whatever, outside the town, where most people avoid due to the dangers involved. What with monsters, avalanches, and not to mention the sheer cold, only a nutjob would risk it. Unfortunately for poor Saiya, Punch was just such a person. Finally they met some batty young guy with a snowmobile who agreed to take them. He looked like he had spent too much time in the battle arena, so that Saiya was scarcely able to tell if he was a Mao or a Woof, but it didn't really matter. He crammed a scratched up helmet over his frayed ears and motioned for them to hop on, laughing all the while. 'This guy's definitely got knocked around too much. Why does big brother Kochi like to battle so much? He'll end up just like Moof over here…' Saiya mused, becoming more afraid for his life every minute.

The ride was rough at first, but after Saiya got used to it, he rather enjoyed it. Still, it took a long time before they got where they were going. They had to camp a couple nights, which Saiya did not find acceptable, but eventually they found a most promising looking cave in the side of a steep hill face. They'd only been in a bazillion already. Even Punch was losing her steam a bit. She took her shades, wrapped up tight, and led the group inside the cave. It seemed normal enough, but for its unusual beauty. About 12 paces in, a sudden whoosh was heard, and if not for the quick actions of Moof, Punch would have been swiss-cheesed by a hundred bone-white projectiles that blasted out of the wall. On closer inspection, Moof decided they were primitive battle needles. Everybody was on their guard now. This place was hot already, figuratively speaking. As they entered a very large chamber, they couldn't help but feel as though they were stepping into a giant ring of some sort. As they were almost to the other side, a growl and then a loud roar echoed around the chamber. A giant snowbeast dropped from the ceiling and reared back his ugly, shaggy head, and let loose a deafening roar. Punch and Saiya were frozen with terror, but Moof rose to the challenge, and with his characteristic mad grin, he pulled a lasso out of his pack and started luring the monster away, telling the other two to make for the next room. Though they hated to leave him, a swoosh of the monster's massive tail forced them to move it. The next room was much smaller, but still round. The wall and floor patterns stood out, as the ice and snow had not yet penetrated this deep into the cave, and Punch and Saiya could see that it was very beautifully designed. On the left wall, near the opposite end, there was a large golden statue of what looked like an ancient Krow-like bird. They cautiously passed it, as though somewhere in the backs of their minds they expected it to jump off the wall at them. No such misfortune, however. They made it safely to the other side without incident. As they passed into the next room, they realized they had found what they were looking for. Less formally decorated than the last room, this large chamber still boasted stone and ice walls. Part of the roof of the cave, at the far end of the chamber, had fallen away, likely hundreds of years ago or more. Maybe thousands. However, all this was only secondary, and scarcely registered in the minds of the two adventurers. And that because of the sheer brightness of the room. They could not even see beyond the rays of light, it was so dense and powerful. Punch unwrapped the sunglasses and put them on. Amazingly, they allowed her to see through the light and she saw the sacred crystalline disc, jutting out from an outcropping under the hole in the ceiling so that the sunlight passed right through it. Oddly, there was what looked like an ornate silver shield rigged above it, as if to cover the disc up for some reason. Punch theorized that it must have been placed there by whoever dressed up the rest of the cave, at a time when the sun was not in a position to shine through the crystal lens. As she made to walk forward, a loud, furious roar pounded through the chamber from the deep. The whole room seemed to tremble the tiniest bit, but it was enough. The silver shield was rocked loose from its ancient rigging, and it fell, covering the disc and destroying the perfect light. "NNOOO!!!!" Punch shouted as a cascade of emotions washed over her. "AARRRGH!!!!" She ripped the glasses off and stared, irate, at the shield. Her thoughts were interrupted by little Saiya. "He-hey, sis. Punch, we got here, saw the light, and you even got to test your new glasses. Please-come on, can we just go now?" Punch stared at him as if he had just materialized out of thin air. "It could work," she breathed. Saiya stared, knowing that whatever was coming was no good. Punch handed him the glasses and pushed past him, saying, "Here, you take these and put them on. We can still test the light, but you will have to be the one to do it. I have to open the disc because I can fly up there and you can't. Just go stand over there in the middle and wait." Saiya didn't want to do it really, but knew there was no point in arguing. It would all be over one way or another in just a moment, anyway. He positioned himself right in the middle of where the light beam would be. Punch flew up and grabbed the silver shield from behind and prepared to lift it up. It took a mighty effort, but finally it creaked loose. And with another great heave, she tore it away, once and for all, from the crystal disc. The intensity of the light blew her mind and almost covered over the scream coming from Saiya. She threw the disc away and landed outside the light beam, unable to see anything within. Saiya was still shouting. Punch regretted her decisions then, and flew straight into the light, eyes shut, grabbed Saiya, and landed in the shade.

He was different. He was… lighter… And getting lighter all the time. She pushed him back and looked him over, his fur, once dark in color… was bleached almost completely white now. And she watched as it continued to spread over his body, to the ends of every hair, until he was snow white, wings and all. Nervously, she took the glasses off him to find blue eyes where once large yellow ones had stared up at her. Somehow the glasses had prevented him from going blind, but had allowed some measure of light to get in, obviously, and this is what happened. Saiya was in shock. After a moment, he threw himself into Punch's arms, crying. It took a while, but he came round and even commented on what just transpired. Looking at him with a clear head now, they realized that he was, in fact, not solid white. His belly was still yellowish. Punch wondered aloud why this could be, but Saiya himself answered that by saying that he had turned away from the sun. That's why his wings were bleached, and not his belly so much.

Hearing another distant roar, they remembered Moof, and bolted from the light chamber, but were stopped dead in their tracks when they encountered a huge gold bird, no longer statue, standing in their path. "Let me handle this one," Saiya spoke the words seriously. He took a step towards the bird and then chucked the sunglasses at it. The bird snapped out and caught the glasses, allowing Saiya to grab an angry Punch who was still yelling, "My glasses! Crap! My glasses!" and run past the giant creature and into the giant chamber. There was nobody there, though. Nevertheless, the gold bird was on their tails, so they high stepped it to the other side. As they ran, they saw that the whole place was starting to break apart, likely due to the snow monster's constant howling reverberating dangerously about. With no time to spare, they sailed underneath a cascade of snow and ice through the doorway into a tunnel they had used. The gold bird was trapped, but no doubt trying to break through. Punch and Saiya ran for it again, no time to catch their breath. They heard another roar, angrier and more strained than before, coming from somewhere up ahead. Finally they plowed right into a scene straight out of the movies, but weirder—Moof trying to fend off the furious beast with the multitude of strange weapons and objects he had brought with him, along with some wicked-looking improvised ones. Once he saw them, he grabbed them and bolted. They ran madly down one corridor and another, till Moof dragged them off a way they hadn't come before, creature still hot on their heels. He yelled something about the roof having caved in during his battle, and it being either the best or the only way out now. Even Punch had her doubts this time, but didn't stop to argue the point. They ran up a snowy bank that resulted from the cave-in and emerged with some difficulty on top of the cave, on the top of the hill into which the cave was dug. Everything looked rather the same up here, meaning white and no direction looked promising. But good old Moof dragged them in the direction he thought best, as the monster poked its ugly head out of the hole. They ran as fast as they could, feeling the ground shake with each step the creature took as it pounded after them. Then, the end was in sight: They saw the edge of the hill and a bit of the snowmobile, now itself covered in a fine layer of snow. Joy turned to shock, however, as they realized they couldn't stop in time, and ran/skidded over the edge of the hill, crashing to the ground below. The fall was high, but not enough to cause serious damage. Wincing, they pulled each other to their feet and hobbled over to the snowmobile as the monster reached the edge of the hill. Moof floored it as the creature jumped down after them. But then, without warning, the ground beneath the thing began to give way under the impact it created. There was another part of the cave system beneath their very feet. Moof rocketed them out of there as the monster was pulled down into the shifting earth. Even as they sped away, they could feel the ground chipping beneath them for a long time. The cave system was enormous. Who knows what other wonders they missed out on. But this time, at least they got away with their lives.

That night…

Sitting around their fire, Punch was contemplating how the other two made her pitch all the tents as punishment. There was hardly any talk. In fact it wasn't till they were back at the man's own shop in town and he gestured for them to leave that many words were spoken. Punch didn't like being dismissed in such a way and made her frustrations known. Then Moof eyed her and said, "Lady, you're one raisin short of an oatmeal cookie, ya know that? You're the most dangerous thing around here!" Punch lowered her head and then looked back up at Moof, who smiled. "Of course, I did almost teach that monster how to sit and roll over. Maybe come back next spring, I'll have a saddle on 'em!" Punch said nothing, but took Saiya, now snow white, and left the strange man to his musings.

Back home…

Kochi was still sitting on the couch, but this time working some sort of puzzle in the paper. He looked up at them, then back down. "Find what you were looking for?" Punch and Saiya looked at each other. Both knew he'd never believe them. "Er… Sort of… But I lost my glasses…." Punch managed. "Heh. That's what you get for playing in the snow for 6 days. Serves you right. It's a wonder the abominable snowman didn't tell you to get out of his yard. Heehee." Punch and Saiya exchanged pointed glances. Nah, he'd never believe it.


End file.
